Financial support is being sought for the 17th meeting of the International Society for Sexually[unreadable] Transmitted Diseases Research (ISSTDR) that will be held at the Washington State Trade and[unreadable] Convention Center in Seattle, Washington from July 29 ? August 1, 2007. The funding received[unreadable] will be applied primarily to support the award of travel scholarships to junior investigators and[unreadable] trainees who would otherwise not be able to attend this meeting.[unreadable] [unreadable] Over the past three decades, these biennial ISSTDR meetings have provided an important forum[unreadable] to address the entire breadth of STD research, including HIV infection and AIDS. The ISSTDR[unreadable] has emerged as the premier international scientific conference on STD, encompassing the fields[unreadable] of microbiology, virology, immunobiology, pathogenesis, and other basic sciences; clinical[unreadable] sciences, social and behavioral sciences, epidemiology, and prevention; and research in health[unreadable] services, public health, and prevention policy. Historically, meeting venues have alternated[unreadable] between Europe and North America. Based on previous attendance figures, more than a thousand[unreadable] clinical and basic researchers, their fellows, and students are expected to attend.[unreadable] [unreadable] The centerpiece of this meeting will be the oral and poster presentations of original scientific[unreadable] research from abstracts selected for competitive evaluation. In addition, invited speakers will[unreadable] present plenary state-of-the-art presentations and invited chairpersons will give brief[unreadable] introductions to each scientific session centered on different research topics. A variety of special[unreadable] symposia, primarily organized around several invited presentations will explore in detail the latest[unreadable] findings in specific scientific domains. The meeting will be organized into five different ?tracks,?[unreadable] 1) Clinical Research, 2) Epidemiology, 3) Social and Behavioral Aspects of Epidemiology and[unreadable] Prevention, 4) Basic Science Research, and 5) Health Services and Policy.[unreadable] [unreadable] The ISSTDR meetings provide for immediate exchange of new scientific information. As such[unreadable] we anticipate that this information will ultimately influence policy and programmatic application[unreadable] resulting in both direct and indirect improvement of HIV/AIDS and STD services in clinics,[unreadable] laboratories, and prevention programs. In order to disseminate information, the proceedings of[unreadable] past ISSTDR meetings have been published as supplements to scientific journals. More recently,[unreadable] to increase efficiency and accelerate distribution, the meeting proceedings have been[unreadable] disseminated through online Internet access rather than by printed media. The Seattle meeting[unreadable] program and its proceedings will also be available online and on compact disks for free[unreadable] distribution to meeting participants and other interested parties.